Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ

Happy new year, Ouchers. While we've been away toasting the start of 2009, it seems that there's been a row brewing over the awards given to various Paralympians in the New Year Honours list (which I wrote about in the last entry).

Although it seemed like many of the gold medal-winning Paralympic athletes from Team GB were given honours of some kind, a closer look at the figures revealed that whilst every Olympic gold medallist was featured in the New Year Honours list, only 18 of the 35 British Paralympic champions secured a gong of some sort.

In The Daily Telegraph last Friday, no less a figure than multi medal-winning Paralympian appeared to criticise this "lack of parity", and suggested the Government should give equal recognition to the achievements of both non-disabled and disabled athletes when London hosts the 2012 Games.

She is quoted as saying:

The reality - and it is surely not right - at the moment is that you have to multi-medal at the Paralympic Games to get a New Years Honours list award. By the time 2012 comes around, we need to get this in order. There is a lack of parity, and we are playing catch-up. When I got my MBE after 1992 [after three gold and one silver medal at the Paralympic Games in Barcelona] there were hardly any Paralympians who ever received honours.

The Telegraph report goes on to reveal some interesting facts and figures Whilst Team GB's Paralympics squad finished second in the medals table with 42 golds - beaten only by China, the host nation - Great Britain's able-bodied Olympians, for all the acclaim they received, came fourth with 19 gold medals. Individual comparisons can be made between Chris Hoy, who received a knighthood for winning three Olympic cycling golds in Beijing, whilst his Paralympic counterpart Darren Kenny, who secured four gold medals, received the lesser award of an OBE. Meanwhile, Rebecca Adlington received an OBE for her two Olympic golds in the pool, but Paralympian swimmer Eleanor Simmonds was given an MBE for her two Olympic golds.

However, after this news report was published, Dame Tanni about the Paralympics standing within the honours system, telling Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Wales:

This is how the honours system works. I've been hugely honoured in that I've received three honours through the system. I'm hugely supportive of the honours system, I'm part of the decision-making process, albeit at a fairly low level. I think there's an assumption by the public that they look at medals and think, this person has been awarded this medal therefore this is the award they should get. I don't think it works like that. I don't think there's any right or wrong when it comes to the honours system. It all depends on where you are in your career, the magnitude of what's been achieved, whether you'll be around in another four years.

So what do you think? Do you think that Team GB's Paralympians have fared noticeably worse in the New Year Honours list than their Olympic counterparts? Should gold medallists necessarily receive an honour anyway? Share your views in the comments.